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Skeletal foot, ankle ID'd as missing Lowell woman

A skeletal foot and ankle bone found on the bank of the Merrimack River in 2011, have been identified as that of a missing Lowell woman, District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Wednesday.

Helena Fells, who was 49 when she disappeared, was last seen in Lowell on Nov. 26, 2006. Police found her parked car near the Merrimack River and a search dog tracked her scent from the car to the river's edge, but no trace of the woman was found.

More than four years later, an environmental clean-up company working in West Newbury found a human foot and ankle bone inside a woman's shoe. No other remains were found.

Investigators compared DNA from the bones to family members of women who had been reported missing in the area. Lab results confirmed last week that the remains were that of Fells.

"I hope that this identification provides the family of Helena Fells some small measure of comfort," District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.

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